Who Invented Words?

How does memory work? Why can’t we remember things that happened when we were babies? Why do we forget? Why are some people forgetful? Why do elephants have such good memories. What’s this episode about? I forgot! Oh yeah, how does our memory work! Our guest is Dr. Nick Turk-Brow ... Show More

Have you ever heard of a bucket list? That’s an expression people sometimes use that means something big you want to do or see or accomplish in your lifetime! For our last episode every year, we like to turn things around and WE ask a question for YOU to answer! Our 2025 end-of-y ... Show More

Have you ever heard a fox scream at night and thought it was a human? And why, when goats bleat, do they sometimes sound like human babies? Animals can sometimes make similar noises but not because they’re feeling the same things. It often has more to do with how similar the soun ... Show More

How and why do we make assumptions based on the way people speak? What is considered “proper,” or “correct” language – and who decides that, anyway? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for adv ... Show More

<p>Where did language come from? Is it possible to know without traveling back in time? And how do babies learn to speak? Plus: We’ll hear how the word “silly” has evolved over the last several hundred years.</p><p>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/list ... Show More

Have you ever noticed that when you say the same word over and over, it starts to sound funny? It’s like the word loses its meaning and just becomes weird, disconnected sounds. One of our listeners wanted to know why, and we went to linguist Shohini Battasali for the answer. Got ... Show More

We asked you to ask US things you've always wanted to know about us. Today, we're answering your questions and addressing topics that we've been avoiding... 

<p>Also: why do we pad our speech with so much filler language?</p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p> 

I often get asked whether it's better to focus on one language and become fluent in it or to explore many languages. In this video I talk about why I don't think there's one answer to this question.